All-time top small forwards -- a surprise.

In the NBA today, No. 4s rule rule with players Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace and Elton Brand dominating the landscape. It almost makes you forget that small forwards dominated basketball for much of the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

Here are the 10 greatest small forwards and there is a surprise at the top, at least in my system.

Player, years, points
1. Julius Erving, 1971-1987, 20213.4
2. Larry Bird, 1979-1992, 19359.2
3. Elgin Baylor, 1958-1972, 17430.3
4. Rick Barry, 1965-1980, 16677.6
5. Scottie Pippen, 1987-2004, 16536.3
6. John Havlicek, 1962-1978, 16248.4
7. Connie Hawkins, 1967-1976, 14956.0
8. Paul Arizin, 1950-1962, 14906.3
9. Billy Cunningham, 1965-1976, 14869.1
10. Dominique Wilkins, 1982-1999, 14542.8

OK, I can hear Bird fans saying "Whaaaaat?"

Going in, I assumed Bird would finish ahead of Dr. J even though I was an Erving fan. But what fans of Bird forget is that Doctor J dominated the ABA as thoroughly as any player dominated a league ever. If you just take NBA seasons into account, Bird would finish way ahead. But by the time Bird came into the NBA, Erving's best days were behind him.

Another factor in Erving's favor was defense. Bird had very few steals or blocks. Somehow he was second team all-defense three times, but there was little justification for that. He was said to be a great help defender, but Charles Barkley had a great line about Bird's defense, saying he'd never be the league's worst defender as long as Bird was still playing.

Erving was all-league defense in the ABA but never in the NBA. But he was a first-rate shot blocker and better at stealing the ball.

Defense was a key reason Scottie Pippen finished so high as well. I watched Pippen play and always considered him to be overrated. But he filled a box score as well as anyone.

Another surprise in this system is that Elgin Baylor finished so far behind in third. Elgin had some great seasons but those were in the highest-scoring times in the NBA. Elgin also lost a lot of time because of his knees.

This list isn't likely to change soon. Only one of the next 10 players -- Grant Hill -- is active. Hill is 13th but he's got little time left to move past Dominique Wilkins for 10th.